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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23402944">Fix it Future</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kadenisanxious/pseuds/kadenisanxious'>kadenisanxious</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Steven Universe (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Crystal Gems (Steven Universe), Post-Steven Universe: The Movie, Strong Language, Time Travel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:35:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,987</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23402944</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kadenisanxious/pseuds/kadenisanxious</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>the gems have a surprise for their favorite boy, and their boy has a surprise for them. one is more enthusiastic about their surprise than the other is.</p><p>aka. steven universe finds a weird new power, and gets zapped back to gem glow. just when things were finally starting to get better too.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>105</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. waking up, and sneaking out</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"how mad do you think he would be if i ate one."<br/> "amethyst don't even think about it, these are for him." <br/>"it's called a joke P.<br/>" steven rolled over, hearing the distant voices of his family from downstairs. 'they must be making breakfast to celebrate or something.' he thought, still half asleep, before his eyes snapped open.<br/> "Wait."<br/> "we should have awhile before it's time for him to wake up. we could go on a mission and be back before he returns."<br/> garnet's voice sounded from behind him.<br/> it was close, and impossibly so.<br/> "man he is going to be so stoked when he finds out we got these!'' Amethyst says, she was further away, but not by much.<br/> not that that fact matered.<br/> "hopefully this will lessen the blow, you know how much he loves these thing." pearl, her voice pitches as though she was speaking about a small child.<br/>' but that also didn't matter because. Because!'<br/> he sat up, snapping himself out of his thoughts, and saw the loft. all his stuffed toys aligned so that no one felt left out, his small tv sitting on the floor across from him, his game consoles plugged in. the gems, in their old forms, not yet noticing that he was awake, just a few feet away, no wall between them.<br/> ' that doesn't matter right now because i'm supposed to be on the road right now, in a shitty motel on a trip to find myself.'</p><p> he slowly stood, wobbly on his shorter legs, watching as they grew and shrank in seconds unable to pick a length. his close constricted for a second, before it landed on the smaller version of himself for now.<br/> 'deep breaths universe. one thing at a time.'he focused on keeping his mind clear. 'no need to panic just yet.' steven stood, and slowly turned to look around once more, before he heard the wapr go off. the gems leaving for their mission.<br/> "one less problem to worry about right now then." he mumbled, trying to get reaccumulated to the shorter height once more.<br/>  "stay small, get to dad, get bigger clothing, change back." he mumbled, making a plan. his therapist had suggested this strategy when he explained how out of control things had felt. </p><p>"when things seem out of controle make a simple plan of something you can control." that's how she had put it, and man did things feel out of control right now. lucky his body listened to him still, and he stayed classic steven.<br/> "stay small, check." he mumbled, changing into his old red star shirt and jeans. he took a deep breath, and walked out the door.<br/> "get to dad." </p><p>stepping out of the house brought a slight pink tinge to stevens cheeks. Little homeschool was nowhere to be seen. <br/>"deep breaths universe. focus on the plan." he mumbled. huminization. another tip from therapy. talk to his fears and anxiety, like how he would talk to someone else. play off of his helpers personality. the pink faded with his breaths. He tore his gaze off the horizon, not wanting to trigger that reaction again. <br/>"get to dad." he stood in front of the car wash now. "check." he pounded on the door, purposely ignoring how frantic it sounded.<br/> "dad! open up, i need your help." admit when you need help, another tip, you needing help is a good thing.  "dad!" his voice did not crack. it didn't and you can't convince him otherwise. After what he assumed was hours, the older univers opened up the door, clearly groggy. <br/>"Ok ok, where's the fire stchu-ball?" he had his hair, and Steven had a pink tinge again.<br/> "dad, i need some bigger clothing. please don't ask questions, i don't think i can explain just yet." admit when you need a break from talking. He blinked slowly, still in the process of waking up. <br/>"sure thing kiddo. give me a sec." the older universe crawled back into the van, shuffling through some piles. "get bigger clothing. check." </p><p>swiping the clothes held out from greg as he ran into the carwash was rude, sure he could admit that. but having to stay in this smaller form was worse as far as steven was concerned right now. He tore off his red shirt, already allowing himself to grow back to his normal size. even that small semblance of normality was welcomed with a sigh of relief.<br/> "Steven, is everything alright?" Greg asked, knocking on the door. Steven huffed, remembering the current situation.<br/> "dad, i am freaking out right now. I need you to do me a huge favor, and I know you are not going to like it but trust me when I say it will help."<br/> he was met with silence, and Steven just knew his dad was coming to terms with the fact that this would be magic related.<br/> "oh boy. ok bud what do you need me to do?" <br/> "go to the closest food place, and get anything. anything at all, and get ready to mentally prepare yourself. This is going to be a long discussion."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Explanations and Decisions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Steven explains to his father exactly what has happened, not including everything just in case of the timeline messing up. even with all of that, greg has worries about how, given the information, and the gems current standing with his son, steven has to make a decision.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Steven paces the office room of the wash, now that he was able to clear his mind and think he suddenly realised three things at once.<br/> one, yes he was in the past. Obviously he had figured that part out already, but now he was sent panicking as badly. He could think it through, and figure out what he needed. He would worry about exactly WHEN in his past we were in later.<br/> two, he had full control of his powers still. that was good, he could defend himself if the need arises. 'and it will.' a small voice in the back of his head chided. He shook his head. "a problem for later." and with that thought there was three. <br/>he was in the past, which meant anything he did or said could affect the future. He was going to have to be careful. Just as he came to that relizating he heard his dad huffing from outside. <br/>"steven! i'm back. i'm sorry stchu-ball i tried to get you some cookie cats, but it seems like everywhere in town is out right now." <br/>Steven drowned out the rest of his dad's sentence, realization four. cookie cat was just bought out in the town. cookie cat was gone, meaning this was it. the day he first summoned his shield. "it's fine dad. what did you end up getting?"<br/> "I just got you some donuts. Is that alright?" he nodded, sighing a bit.<br/> "yeah that'll be fine. i'm gonna come on out now, but don't freak out please." he could practically feel his dad tensing up on the other side of the door. <br/>"i'll do my best." a deep breath, and Steven opened the door.</p><p>out of all the reactions, a deep sigh of relief was not what he expected. <br/>"oh thank god. i thought you had turned into a giant woman or something.'' Greg put the dunuts down, with a shaky laugh. "stchu-ball this is just puberty. i know it seems scary but-" <br/> steven cut off his dad, turning a brilliant shade of pink. however this time he couldn't blame this one on his powers. "no no no! dad i promise i don't need that talk right now it's not puberty.'' Greg laughed lightheartedly.<br/> "oh really? are you sure, or did the gems give you some weird gem version of this talk?"<br/> "dad. please, stop. it's not that, i swear.'' Steven covered his face in embarrassment. "I promise, there's no need for that. just, can i explain?''<br/> Greg sat down, patting the bumper of the car next to him. "sure thing kiddo, here tell me all about it.'' Steven sat, staring at the ground, still blushing. "ok, let's start with the easy things. one this is not puberty. I mean, it is, but not the way you think it is."<br/> Greg chuckled, pulling out a donut to hand to steven.  "so it is puberty then?'' <br/>Steven shoved the donut in his face, blush in full force once more. "no! That's not what caused this. let's not have the whole body changing talk." <br/>Greg nodded, seeing his son's distress. "ok, so then what is it?'' Steven took a second, swallowing his food, as he gathered his thoughts. "I apparently have some new powers, and they caused something really weird to happen."<br/> greg paled slightly. "weird how?"<br/> "try back to the future weird.<br/>" a pause. "original or reboot?'' <br/>Steven turned to his dad, pink rising on his cheeks. "does that matter!?'' Greg shook his head, "sorry sorry. trying to wrap my head around it thats all.'' Greg looked off into the distance. "So what does that mean exactly? is there another, younger, you, or did you take his place?" <br/>Steven sighed, looking away. "i think I took his place. i'm sorry.''<br/> Greg, steeling himself at the sight of his dejected son, placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're still my son, it's not like you're a stranger." Steven teared up, half expecting his dad to be crushed that he literally replaced his 13 year old son.<br/> "So if you replaced him, how old are you now?" <br/>"oh! i'm 17 now." Steven mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "i'm way far back."<br/> 17.<br/> Greg blanched at the thought. those words felt like a punch to the gut. 17 years old. Just yesterday he was 13! "jesus." Greg mumbled out loud. "sorry stchu-ball this is alot to take in." Steven nodded, looking away. that was more like what he expected. "have you told the gems yet?" and just like that, realization five. Steven couldn't tell the gems about this. </p><p>"no. absolutely not. this would be breaking news in my time, telling them in this time is out of the question.'' Steven said standing, running his hands through his hair. "this is the point of my life where the gems are the most alien. I should consider myself lucky that Garnet most likely has no idea yet."<br/>greg frowned at his son. "what do you mean! if anyone can help you it'll be the gems." <br/>"if anyone will make it worse it'll be the gems! This point of time is unstable for their mentality. i'll just wait." <br/> "steven!" <br/>"it's not a big deal, I'll just speedrun this. I know the conversations needed, and I remember some of what happened back then, back now?"<br/> "Steven."<br/> "and i have control over my powers now, so it's not like-" <br/>"STEVEN.'' Greg placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "your glowing pink!'' Steven blinked, and looked down. He was glowing. <br/>"ah geez. sorry dad." Steven shook his hands, taking a deep breath. <br/>“is that normal?!" <br/>"kind of? it's still a little new. when my emotions are high, it happens. i'm fine now." the glow subsided, and Greg sighed. "oh man, magic stuff." "I did warn you." the two sat in silence for a few seconds.<br/> "How are you feeling?" Both universes looked to each other, laughing slightly at the irony of them asking at the same time.<br/> "you first.'' Steven insisted. <br/>"It's a lot. it also doesn't feel quite real yet i guess. you?" <br/>"same here. it's a lot."</p><p>"you're really not going to tell them?" steven shook his head, picking up one of the forgotten donuts.<br/> "not yet. it's just not a good idea. no offence to the gems, but this wasn't exactly the most stable of times to live in. there was a ton of pressure on me to be like mom, and they all had yet to process their grief.'' Greg nodded solemnly.<br/> "i didn't think they had either. you were just so excited to move in though, i couldn't really say no."<br/> steven looked down. "i was." <br/>Silence.<br/> "if you're not going to tell them, how do you expect to explain your growth spurt?'' Greg asked, taking a bite of his donut.<br/> It was Stevens' turn to blanch. "geeze, I don't think I can. garnet would have warned them if she saw this coming, and her getting thrown off will get her to look into the future closer for any abnormalities.''<br/> Greg nodded. "i don't like the idea of keeping this from them, but if that's what you want, then they won't hear a word of this from me."<br/> "thanks dad."<br/> "though that does leave the issue of your growth spurt still." <br/>steven grimised. "oh yeah. would you mind if i visited you more often? i can shrink down to how i was before, but it's a strain and coming here to relax would be great.'' <br/>Greg lit up, almost not even hearing the admission of yet another power. "of course! you don't even have to ask, just pop in and rest.'' Steven smiled, and Greg could see the words behind it. "you're always welcome with me steven. really.'' Steven wrapped his dad in a hug, tears starting to prick at his eyes. "woah! easy stchu-ball! i'm not going anywhere." <br/>"i know dad. thank you." there was a glow for a moment, but Steven pulled away. his dad wasn't ready for something like that, not yet.<br/> if Greg noticed he didn't comment, just ruffled his son's hair. "now, you gotta tell me. in the future, does your old man ever get around to teaching you to drive?'' Steven laughed, wiping his eyes.<br/> "yeah actually. you gave me your car for work and my trip." <br/>"trip?'' Steven smiled. <br/>"yeah. before i arrived here, i was on a trip of self discovery, just like you went on!''<br/> Greg lit up. "really? where are you in the trip so far?"<br/> "i was just outside empire city, i haven't been on the road for long before this happened."<br/> "wow. i'm so proud of you.''<br/> Steven blushed looking away. his dad didn't need to know what led him there did he?<br/> 'he does.'<br/> Steven sighed. "it wasn't easy. alot of bad had to happen for me to leave. I had a bit of a meltdown a few months back. you all helped pull me out of it, and we all decided that this was the best thing for me."<br/> Greg frowned. "how bad was it?"<br/> "really bad. i'm actually in therapy for it and-"<br/> fuck. <br/>"Fuck!"<br/> "language!'' Greg called, shocked at the sudden outburst. <br/>"dad! I need to get to a therapist again soon. It does me a lot of good, and I don't want to risk a relapse. especially with all of this going on." he gestured around wildly. <br/>Greg frowned. "i'll do my best kiddo, but i don't know if i can afford that right now. i'm not exactly a millionaire.'' <br/>Steven groaned, turning pink slowly, which caused Greg to reach out and place a hand on him. "it's ok steven. we'll figure something out."<br/> "yeah. thanks dad." he mumbled, leaning onto his shoulder. "i should probably get back. if i remember correctly, today a corrupted gem attacks the house, and if i'm not there to prove myself i won't get another chance for a long time.''<br/> Greg nodded, and froze. "wait, a monster attacks the house?!" "it's ok dad. it's just nefurite, i remember how this fight whent. and not only that, now i have full access to my powers, that's something younger me didn't have when i did this the first time.'' <br/>Greg nodded, still turning pale. "ok kiddo, if you're sure. stay safe please." <br/>steven nodded, grabbing his clothing again, shrinking back down to 'classic steven' again.  "I will dad.  I promise.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Gem Glow: Take 2!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>despite years having passed, steven has to think back to his first days with his powers. let's just hope his acting skills have improved since he was 13.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Steven wandered into the big donut, struggling to remember as much as he could about this day. "cookie cats goes out of business. i'm given the fridge. the gems stole a bunch to make me feel better. I summon my shield, and think it's because of the ice cream. nephrite attacks. i think that's it?" he mumbles to himself, looking over the freezer.<br/>
Sadie and Lars eye Steven oddly. Usually when he comes in, he gives a hearty hello, going on about something cool the gems did. today, he didn't even acknowledge the pair, mumbling to himself quietly.<br/>
"what's up with steven?" lars mumbled. " i've never heard him this quiet, it's freaking me out."<br/>
"i don't know. do you think he realized cookie cats is discontinued?"<br/>
lars shrugged, going into the back. "whatever. kids weird.''<br/>
Sadie glared at his retreating figure, huffing. however he was right. Steven was never this quiet, and it was starting to worry her. "hey steven!" she called out, leaning over the counter a bit. "you ok over there?''<br/>
Steven snapped out of his thoughts, turning to see who was calling. "sadie! sorry, just grieving." he mumbled, quickly remembering where he was. He sulked over to the counter, sparing a glance back to the freezer.<br/>
"i figured. sorry for your loss steven." he smiled at her.<br/>
'oh you have no idea sadie.' "i just don't know what to do now! i feel so lost." he sighed dramatically, playing it up as best he could. she laughed, any worries melting away at the kids dramatics.<br/>
"well if you want, you can have the old freezer. corporate was just gonna have us throw it out. at least this way, it'll get some use.''<br/>
Steven smiled, gratefully. "thanks sadie!" steven slapped a wad of cash down, "can i also get a cl- a glazed donut?''<br/>
Sadie couldn't help it, she laughed at his enthusiasm. "sure thing.'' Steven set about unplugging the freezer as Sadie got his donut ready.</p><p>"ok. what happened next.'' Steven mumbled, nibbling on his glazed treat. 'i'm forgetting something. i know i am.' he walked into the house and was face to face with a centipeetle and a strong sense of dejavu.<br/>
oh yeah.<br/>
'oh fuck.'<br/>
"Oh shit.'' Steven mumbled, pushing back against the little monster. it's not like i can just summon my shield right now! What do I do? What did I do? Just as Steven was thinking back, a friendly whip wrapped around the monster, crushing it into a harmless cloud.<br/>
"sup steven." amethyst said, giving him a nonchalant peace sign.<br/>
"amethyst!'' Steven called, forcing a grin on his face. to be honest, the old forms shook him to his core, even if he was expecting it. years of development and healing, and there they were back at square one. deep breaths. you can do this.<br/>
"so cool! what are these?" this day was starting to come back finally. Steven remembered asking the same question, to get no response.<br/>
"Sorry Steven, we'll get these centipeetle out of your room." pearl said, pulling one from under the coffee table.<br/>
"their kinda cute.'' Steven mumbled, walking closer. the monster in question spat acid at the floor, trying to get pearl to stop restraining it.<br/>
"uh, you guys? these things don't have gems'' amethyst called from the other room.<br/>
"that means there must be a mother somewhere nearby." garnet cut in, making her way over to steven.<br/>
"we should probably go find it before someone gets hurt."<br/>
'that's my cue.' Steven thought, turning to pearl. "oh, can i come can i?" he already knew the answer.<br/>
"steven until you learn to control the powers from your gem, we'll take care of protecting humanity. ok?" pearl asked, not really leaving room for discussion.<br/>
Steven sighed. "this sucks." a thud, and Steven turned to see the fridge open.<br/>
"hey! shoo, get away from that!'' Steven yelled, rushing over. He ignored the icecream for now. 'don't rush it. I don't want them to be suspicious.' obviously the measure was not needed. The gems had no reason to suspect anything was up with Steven, as far as they were concerned he was his normal self. "they could have spoiled all the food!" he mumbled, shutting the fridge, and making a hard stop at the freezer. 'pause. react. Success.'<br/>
"no way!" he exclaimed after a moment. "i thought they stopped making these! where did you get them?”<br/>
Steven knew where. all the proof was in the town lacking their stock. the pearl peened slightly at the excitement.<br/>
" Well, we heard that, too, and since they’re your favorite-"<br/>
"we went out and stole a bunch!" amethyst cut off, pulling the attention away. Pearl glowered at her, much to Steven's annoyance. He hadn't had to deal with these two in a long time.<br/>
"I went back and paid for them."<br/>
"the whole thing was my idea." garnet cut in, having finished off the last of the monsters. Steven zoned out the bickering.<br/>
'i'm gonna have to sing it aren't i?' with as much enthusiasm he could muster, steven swallowed his pride, and sang the jingle in as steveneny a way he could manage. This was harder than he thought. Why did he have to be such an annoying kid? At the end, there was applause, as always. Though rare, Steven remembered that when the gems did humor him, they did it well. Then he took the bite, and glowed as brightly as he dared.<br/>
"steven! your gem!" pearl called, grinning.<br/>
'Wait.'<br/>
"dude try to summon your weapon!" Amethyst yelled, leaning forward.<br/>
'wait for it.' "how?"<br/>
"easy steven, breath. don't force it!" Pearl coached, and Steven set down the cookie cat next to amethyst.<br/>
'now' "ok!" he mumbled,  closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath. </p><p>summoning his shield was well received. Pearl had tears in her eyes, amethyst and garnet gave him pats on the back, and Steven didn't make the mistake of assuming his powers came from his ice cream. of course things also went wrong.<br/>
'what gives? wassent nephrite supposed to attack after?' Steven looked around the house, still expecting to hear the rumbles. 'what went wrong? I did everything the same.'<br/>
Garnet walked out of the temple, spotting Steven by the window. "hello steven." she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.<br/>
Steven jumped, too lost in thought to have heard her come in. "oh garnet! you scared me. what's up, any super cool missions for me?" he asked, forcing his voice higher.<br/>
Garnet gave the young boy a small smile. He just summoned his shield, and already was expecting a mission? why did she expect anything less. even with the on brand behavior, garnet couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. everything about the day was off by a few hours.<br/>
"not yet. i just wanted to congratulate you again on summoning your shield.'' Steven grinned, and turned back to the window, and a pensive look in his eyes. there it was again. He looked almost like he was waiting for something. every attempt to look into the future resulted in the same outcome.<br/>
"steven are you waiting for the mother to return?" he froze. Caught.<br/>
"i'm just worried. that's all. what if it shows up, and i can't summon my shield again to help?" Steven had to think fast. garnet was onto him, she was sure of it. sapphire was probably frantically using their future vision to find out what was wrong with him.<br/>
garnet on the other hand let out a non-audible sigh of relief. Steven wassent waiting for her because he knew she would come.<br/>
That was ridiculous, completely illogical.<br/>
He just was waiting for the chance to prove himself. He was a eager to please the kid, after all. Garnet nodded, putting her thoughts to rest, patting his head, and heading back to the temple, ruby and sapphire calmed with knowing steven was ok.<br/>
As soon as the door closed, Steven shot out of the house, his entire body turning a brilliant shade of pink and he sped over to his father's wash. He was already back in his bigger clothing, and back to normal size by the time Greg realized the pink blur was his son.<br/>
"steven! back so soon?"<br/>
he was met with a groan, and Steven falling very dramatically into the back of the truck.</p>
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